Johnston said her 40-year-old daughter got Abigail six years ago in Colorado, with teeth marks still visible on her shell from a dog attack. The previous owners and the Petco staff thought she was a turtle and had been giving her all the wrong food.

A year ago, Abigail started acting funny.

An exotic pet veterinarian told them Abigail was actually a tortoise, Johnston said. She had such a calcium deficit that her bones hadn’t grown into her back legs.

“She was kind of pulling her back legs,” Johnston said.

Since then, Abigail had been getting the right food. Johnston was doing exercises with her to strengthen those back legs. They were due to get another X-ray.